The Canceled Star Trek IMAX Film Would Have Been Spectacular

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The "Star Trek" property was cresting in popularity in 1997. Although "Star Trek: The Next Generation" had come to an end in 1994, the greater franchise had only just scored a big hit with "Star Trek: First Contact" in 1996. At the same time, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager" were humming along decently on TV, with the former hitting its stride and the latter having just introduced the ratings-saving character Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) onto the show. The property was also gearing up for "Star Trek: The Experience" to open at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas. The brand was riding high and "Star Trek" conventions were as large as they had ever been.

In the middle of this, executive producer Rick Berman and producer/screenwriter Hans Tobeason were putting together yet another ambitious "Star Trek" film. The 40-minute "Star Trek: IMAX" was to play, yes, on IMAX screens and was to feature canonical appearances from established "Star Trek" characters. Colm Meany was to reprise his role as Chief O'Brien (the most important character in history), while David Warner was to portray Chancellor Gorkon, the Klingon character he'd previously played in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." It seems that a time-warp would've been necessary, though, as Gorkon died in that film. Warner had also previously played a human in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and a Cardassian on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," so he knew the franchise well. Other "Star Trek" characters would have also been involved, but Warner and Meany were the only actors confirmed.

And then, just as soon as it was announced in Variety, "Star Trek: IMAX" seemed to vanish. According to an article in issue #50 of Star Trek Monthly Magazine (only available through the collector's market), though, the project sort of petered out quickly for unknown reasons.

It seems that "Star Trek: IMAX" was to cost a modest $10 to $12 million and, according to announcements at the time, involve characters from all four of the extant live-action "Star Trek" shows. The actual timeline of the IMAX film was not revealed, nor, sadly, was its story. All that was known was that the film would have been ambitious and looked amazing because it would've been filmed with IMAX cameras, naturally. It would have also been shot in 3-D and used state-of-the-art CGI (which, in 1997, was a bold new movie for the model-heavy "Star Trek"). No director had been selected, though.

Although a script was written and the project was being overseen by Rick Berman, the head honcho of all "Star Trek" at the time, it appeared to have stayed in its parking spot. Two years after the announcement, Berman was interviewed for Star Trek Monthly, and he only cited "business reasons" for its lack of movement. He still held out hope, though, explaining:

"The IMAX film seems to be somewhere between on a back burner and dead in the water. We developed and wrote a wonderful script. Paramount loved it and the IMAX people loved it. It was a story that would have mainly featured Colm Meaney's character and a bunch of new characters in the 35-40 minute movie. For business reasons, in terms of the dealings that went on between Paramount and IMAX, it's on a back burner. As to whether it will move onto a middle burner or a front burner sometime in the near future, that's anybody's guess."

Berman remained fond of his script nonetheless, even calling it out years later in the oral history book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams." (He specifically used the word "wonderful.") It would have been spectacular to watch an original IMAX "Star Trek" feature during the franchise's 1990s heyday.

It will, sadly, remain forever hidden from us.